Performance Measurement of the Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives: The Gap between Theory and Practice |
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| Authors: | Rafat A M E Soboh Alfons Oude Lansink Gerard Giesen Gert van Dijk |
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| Institution: | Rafat A. M. E. Soboh is a research assistant at Business Economics Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands and at The Netherlands Institute for Cooperative Entrepreneurship (NICE), Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands.;Alfons Oude-Lansink is a full-time professor at Business Economics Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.;Gerard Giesen is a staff member at Business Economics Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.;Gert van Dijk is the president of the General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union (COGECA), Belgium, and a visiting professor at Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. |
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| Abstract: | The performance of agricultural cooperatives depends on their business objectives, which are defined in different ways in the literature. We review the theoretical literature on the performance of agricultural marketing cooperatives. Studies can be divided into two classes, those that assume a single objective and those that assume multiple objectives. This classification integrates three views of the cooperatives: ( a ) vertical integration of firms, ( b ) independent enterprise, and ( c ) coalition of firms. Empirical studies on the financial performance of cooperatives are classified into two categories, studies based on the economic theory of the firm and studies that emphasize accounting techniques. Empirical studies have failed to address the cooperatives' objectives as represented by the theoretical literature on cooperative performance. |
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